A Perfectly Ordinary Sunday in October

Sunday last was an exceptionally nice day for my family. It was not exceptionally nice because we went somewhere different, or did out-of-the-ordinary things, or had anything unusual happen. It was exceptional because I was home with my family, the sun was shining, and our day was spent on home, land, and community-focused activities. In other words, it was a perfectly ordinary Sunday in October. I’d like to tell you a little bit about it.

Marlene and I were up early (but not too early) and took a short walk to the end of our road. The air was autumn crisp and clear. The sun was just coming up, bright and strong. We had the road to ourselves (except for our dog, Annie, who loves to take walks). No automobile traffic. No sounds of human activity in the distance. Just the stillness of the morning. It was a good way to start the day.

Our home is situated on the east side of a small valley, almost, but not quite, to the crest. So, as the sun begins to rise each day, our small parcel of land is in a shadow for a few minutes while the other side of the valley is illuminated. This next picture, taken from in front of our house, shows the view down the road and over to the west side of the valley. Our house is off to the left side and a little behind from where I took the picture

The trees were in peak color on Sunday. The reds and yellows are particularly vibrant this year. That, of course, added to the pleasure of our walk and the day ahead.

On the way back to the house, we stopped and pulled some carrots from the garden to make a morning glass of fresh carrot juice. Marlene added some Amish-grown celery from the farmer’s market (I‘ve never grown celery, but really think I should give it a try). I can, however, grow grapes and I have a row of them by the garden. Here’s a picture of my Concord grapes on the vine.

Marlene and I each picked a small cluster of grapes and ate them. Just-picked Concord grapes are indescribably good. Someday soon, before the harshness of winter arrives, we will pick all the grapes and make juice. And I will wish I had planted more than one row.

When we got back to the house, I tended to my garlic. I am working to get this year’s crop of garlic processed into garlic powder. Part of the process involves slicing the cloves and dehydrating them. On Sunday morning I sliced and loaded two dehydrators full of garlic. I was up until 2:00am peeling the cloves the previous night. Here’s a picture of my two dehydrator loads of garlic.

I have been photographing the process of turning garlic bulbs into great garlic powder and hope to create a blog tutorial on the subject, much like I recently did on the subject of How To Butcher A Chicken. Stay tuned for that.

Marlene got two of our boys up (the oldest stayed over at a friend’s house) around 8:00 and fed them breakfast. Then we all headed out to dig potatoes together. Some of you who read this may be thinking to yourselves that we are working on Sunday and that is not right. Well, I do not work my regular job on Sundays, and have almost never worked my regular job on Sunday. And we do not allow our children to work for neighbors on Sundays. That is the day we focus our activities almost exclusively on home and church and family. For example, we may dig potatoes together when they need digging.

Those are red Pontiac potatoes. It was a good year for potatoes. Our dog, Annie, enjoyed laying on the cool, freshly-dug soil. Annie is now ten years old. She is the youngest member of our family.

At one point, while digging together, I was reveling in and commenting to my sons about, the beauty of the moment, of us all working together, and the wonders of God's creation, potatoes in particular, and James said to me, "Just think Dad, tomorrow you get to go back to prison." It was a reference to my industrial job and he said it at just that moment to tease me. He understands that my job is the antithesis of what we were at that moment doing and, at 13 years old, he can be a bugger. I feigned anger... "You had to say it didn't you! Now you've ruined everything!" And I proceeded to rough him up a little which, of course, he thoroughly enjoyed. Then we went back to the work of digging.

Someone at my church recently asked me for my advice about how to get kids to work, to enjoy working, and to develop a good work ethic. I didn’t really have a good answer at the time. I said something about modeling a good work ethic for them and hope that someday it “clicked.” But I’ve had a chance to think more about that question.

I believe it is indeed important to be a model of industriousness for our children. But there is more to it than that. I think it is also important to work with our children, not just give them a list of things to do on their own. When two or more work together to get a job done, there is a more positive dynamic to the equation. That’s one of the great things about developing a lifestyle around a homestead-- There is all sorts of work to be done and much of it can be done by family members working together. In time, the joy and challenge of work, of accomplishing tasks, will develop. Then those children will begin undertake work on their own and find it rewarding.

There is more I could say on this subject but that’s enough for now. God knows I’m no expert when it comes to raising children. But there are a few things I’ve done right and helping to instill a good work ethic in my sons is one of them. Of the three, one has less ambition (and less agrarian-focused interests) that the others, but I’ve come to realize that his work ethic is better than most his age. The other two are just exceptionally motivated boys.

What would Sunday be without church? We are, of course, church goers. Our church, pictured above, is only a few miles from our home. It is in a large agricultural pole barn that was converted into a large sanctuary and fellowship hall. If you are in the Moravia, NY area on a Sunday morning, I invite you to come visit my church.

To get there, you go up North Main Street in Moravia, turn right on Oak Hill Road, and drive a couple miles. You will see a very large sign on an old red barn on the left side of the road that says, Jesus is Alive. Turn right into the driveway across from the sign. Our morning service starts at 11:00. On the first and third Sundays of the month we have a dish-to-pass dinner right after the service. You’re welcome to stay for dinner even if you didn’t bring any food.

Last Sunday, Pastor Dale Weed began his sermon with a large candy bar and Proverbs 23:8:

When’s the last time you heard a sermon preached on that verse? About 35 people were in attendance. We usually have a few more than that. But it is a small congregation. Small is good in my book.

I occasionally get an e-mail from a blog reader wondering what kind of church I go to. New Hope Bible Fellowship is an independent, fundamental, Baptist church.

I must admit that I have, in recent years, drifted away from the Baptist “rapture theology” that I grew up learning and believing. Such is due to the Bible teaching of several Reformed men. I’ve also come to think that Calvin’s teaching on predestination may be more in line with what scripture actually teaches.

But neither difference in understanding is, to my mind, any reason not to attend the church I attend. That’s because it is, without any doubt, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, God-honoring fellowship of local believers.

Something I’ve never been able to fully understand is why some Bible-believing Christians in a rural community, refuse to attend the local Bible-believing church and, instead, travel a half hour (or more) to a city church. Go figure.

If you had a birthday since the last meal, we would all sing Happy Birthday to you and you get to go to the head of the line. James was one of the privileged last Sunday.

After church we headed home, but not before stopping down in Moravia and buying a gallon of locally made cider. We are cider connoisseurs and we love to sample the gallons in October. Every jug you buy in a store is questionable. Most times there is a hint of soapy taste. No store-bought cider is as good as what we’ve made ourselves. But sometimes we are pleasantly surprised. Last Sunday’s gallon wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. The jug was empty by the end of the day. Hopefully, we will have time to make our own cider this fall.

When we got home from church, I checked on my onions, which have been drying on screened racks under the roof of our woodshed. It was a good year for onions. I grew enough to last us all winter (we use an average of one a day. There will be quite a few extra to give to friends and maybe even barter with.

Marlene and I and the kids took a few minutes to visit with our neighbors up the road. They packed a moving truck and headed out for Washington State on Monday. We wanted to say good-by and tell them what great neighbors they have been. They truly were good neighbors. They let us use a portion of their land for the past few years as if it were our own. And we were good neighbors in return. We often watched their little girl. We even took her to church with us one Sunday when her parents had to work.

I planted carrots and onions and potatoes on that land this year, and we pastured our turkeys there too. It sure was nice.

When the neighbor listed his house and 8 acres for sale a couple months ago, the first person to look at it put in a purchase offer in for the entire asking price ($136,000). We have not yet met the new neighbors but it’s not likely we will be able to continue using the land as we have. That is disappointing.

As a result, this will be my last year growing a garlic crop to make “Herrick’s Homegrown Garlic Powder.” And there is no way we will have the space to raise turkeys. Our little bit of open acreage will be enough to grow a big kitchen garden and we will still be able to pasture a crop of broilers on the front lawn. Otherwise, our agrarian pursuits are curtailed until we can find a plot of land to purchase, or rent, or something.

Back to Sunday… We finished digging all the potatoes and, later in the day, picked them into crates for winter storage. I spent some time working in my shop, boxing orders for Whizbang chicken plucker parts. Robert went woodchuck hunting. Marlene busied herself with some projects in the house.

James spent part of the afternoon mowing his grandfather’s lawn. My dad has a big lawn and a riding mower. James loves the riding mower because it’s a whole lot more fun than the push mower we use to mow our lawn. I refuse to buy a riding mower. When I was a kid, my dad didn’t have a riding mower. We had only a push mower. I made sure to tell James that. =-)

So there’s a look into the kind of day we had here last Sunday. All in all, it was an ordinary Sunday in October. It was a busy and full day, but it was not a hectic day. It was a day of relaxation, reflection, inspiration, fellowship, variety, accomplishment, and, ultimately, satisfaction. We also all slept good that night.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

– John 3:16 (KJV)

Herrick, I have been reading your blog and several of your books for about a year now and have really enjoyed them. I do however wonder how you can read the above verse and agree with Calvin on "the Elect" and predestination, I believe it would have read "whosoever I select shall not perish, but have everlasting life

Hi Jo--I do not have any tips or tricks. I just prune the vines back in the winter and keep the japaneese beetles picked off. Wish I could offer more than that. I suspect my soil is well suited to grapes. Prior to planting them, I had a row of apple trees that never did very well at all.

Hi Marci--We are still hoping that maybe the land will still be available to us. The onions are put in net bags and hung in our cellarway. So they are cool but dry over the winter. They are "Copra" onions which are especially good keepers.

Hi annonymous--This whole matter of election can be quite complicated. Christians far more attuned to the scriptures than I have been disagreeing about this matter for centuries.

My understandings on election started to change when I came to realize that the Pilgrims and Puritans were Calvanists. Jonathan Edwards, who preached perhaps the most famous American sermon ever ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"), was a Calvanist. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress was a Calvanist. There are so many great men of the faith who held to the doctrine of election. These men were well aware of John 3:16.

When I realized that there was such a doctrine (and I wasn't even aware of it until a few years ago) I decided to take a closer look. I purchased a set of tapes on predestination by RC Sproul. His book Chosen By God is less weighty and a good introduction to the whole subject.

When I look at the Bible, I see a pattern of God choosing men and women for His purposes in history. When I look at my own life, and experiences with people I've known, I see that NOBODY comes to Christ unless God's holy spirit FIRST does a work in their heart and opens their eyes to who He is and the salvation He offers.

I could talk to an unbeliever for days, showing him who Christ is, what God has done for him through His son, and of his need for salvation through Christ. I could employ all kinds of apologetic and witnessing tactics. But until God enables that person to see and truly understand, they do not see and they do not understand.

I made a decision to accept Jesus as my savior when I was a teenager. I prayed the sinners prayer. But I realize now that it was only by God's grace and mercy and soverign plan that I was ever able to do that. Did I choose Christ of my own (which would equate to being saved by my own works)? Or not.

That's not a deep theological explanation. You won't get that from me. And neither will you get emphatic, dogmatic declarations of right and wrong on this subject. Nor will I make fun of the "Arminian" position regarding this issue, as some Calvanists do. I'm just a simple-minded Christian who is thankful to the Lord for His salvation and wishes to see all his friends and family truly know the joy and peace that comes in knowing Christ.

Herrick, I agree with your last paragraph, I also am a simple Christian and do not express to be a theologian. I also feel that simple is better in a lot of phases of life, work and religion as well. I do not feel salvation depends on you being a Calvinist or an Arminian, that comes only through the grace of God. I do believe there will be people of both beliefs going to Hell as well.

"I could talk to an unbeliever for days, showing him who Christ is, what God has done for him through His son, and of his need for salvation through Christ. I could employ all kinds of apologetic and witnessing tactics. But until God enables that person to see and truly understand, they do not see and they do not understand."

I know we could go on about this forever and I don't want to, but if you truly believe in predestination, why worry about witnessing and talking to an unbeliever, if he is elected somehow is going to get to heaven anyway.

I guess the best way I can sum it up is the fact that from your writings I know you love your boys all the same and you would love to spend eternity with all of them in heaven, do you really think your Heavenly Father feels differently than you?

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About The Deliberate Agrarian.

I (Herrick KImball) have been blogging here about Faith, Family & Livin' The Good Life since 2005. Browse down this column and you will discover a rich resource of contra-industrial thought, down-to-earth inspiration & useful how-to information.

My Stewardculture Magazine Interview(Part 1)

Delmar Ain't So Stupid...

Click on Delmar and read why I think he's the smartest of the three characters in the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" movie

Aphorisms Of The Fathers...

And The Mothers (click the picture)

My New York Times Op-Ed Article

The Jeffersonian Solution (click the man and read the article)

Check Out My New Whizbang Gardening Facebook Page...

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Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 1

It's A Biblical Imperative(click the picture)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 2

We Are Not Called To Be Slaves (click the picture)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 3

Profile of a Free Man(click the picture)

Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 4

Sage Advice For Would-Be Farmers(click the picture)

Corporationism vs Independent Patriarchal Units

Lyberty Hyde Bailey (1927) Read it and weep.(click the picture)

Read The Book—Writings Of A Deliberate Agrarian

…Now available as a PDF download for only $4.50 (click the picture for details)

Farming 1.5 Acres...

…And Making A Good Living. (click the picture)

Goodness, Beauty & Loving The Earth

A Christian-Agrarian Missive on God's Creation

Reading Agriphemera

We can learn a lot from the old agricultural writings (Click the picture for more details)

This Man, Now Deceased, Predicted The Economic Decline of America Back in The 1950's.

Click the picture to read about Professor Walter Prescott Webb's Boom Hypothesis of Modern History, and where we are headed from here

Agrarian-Style Economic Self Defense...

I posted this to the internet in early 2008. It is still the most practical advice you'll get for dealing with the harsh economic realities that we face now and will face even more in the years ahead. (click the picture to read the essay)

Modern Banking is An Evil System of Economic Oppression

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The Coming Pension Crisis...

...And what you can do about it. (click the picture)

How To Get Through The Coming Hyperinflation

click the picture to read the 6-part series

Have You Considered Deflation?

Martin Armstrong seems pretty sure of himself (click the sign for details)

The Christian Doctrine of Work

Something's Missing in The 10 Commandmants as it is commonly known. (click the picture)

Scott Nearing's "Horse Chow"

A Four Part Series (click on any of the raisins in the bowl)

Mr. Tesoro's Story

(click the picture)

Blessed is the Man...

Reflections on "tax day." (click the old paper)

City Living?

Some Thoughts on Christian-Agrarian Community (click the picture)

A Herod Nation

Is that What America Has Become? (click the picture)

How To Remember (And Teach Your Children) The 10 Commandments

click the sad bath

Light in Our Dwellings...

Christianity + Agrarianism = Hope In the midst of a dying industrial culture (click the light)

Have You Seen My Whizbang Gardening Book?

5 stars at Amazon. Click the cover to learn more.

New From Planet Whizbang...The Old-Timer's Poultry Library

A rare and fascinating resource for the poultry lover (click the picture for details)

Take A Short Tour Of My Garden...

Strawberries From My Garden!

Grown the "E.P. Roe Way" (click the picture to learn more)

Rural Americans: Cannon Fodder For The New World Order

Click on Sergeant York to read the story.

Freedom Isn't Free (And Other Propoganda)

(click the picture)

Esther Stermer Was A Conspiracy Theorist!

Obviously the woman was a little crazy.… Right? (click the picture for the story)

How Free Men Become Slaves...

A Contra-Industrial Parable From The Okefenokee Swamp (click the pigs)

I Make Classic American Clothespins

click the clothespin and learn all about them.

Have You been to The Agrarian Foundation Article Archives?

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What Would an Agrarian Monetary System Look Like?

Well, for one thing, it would NOT be based on paper money. Click Andy Jackson for some details.

Thomas Jefferson's Warnings About Government Debt (Then and Now)

Read it and weep (click the president)

How Farmers Became Slaves To The Corporate Masters

Click on the mostly forgotton 1937 book by Professor Walter Prescott Webb and learn the sad story

Why Food?

A Christian-Agrarian perspective (click the picture to read the essay)

The Puritan Theology of Suffering...

An excellent treatise on a difficult subject. (click the picture to learn more)

A Missive On The Prosperity-Driven Life

"The desire to be rich, to have an abundance of possessions and money, is the keystone of our modern, neo-Babylonian culture." (click the picture for my perspective)

Prosperity Gospel/ Prosperity Idolatry

Click the picture to hear John Piper's powerful 2.5 minute condemnation of the modern prosperity gospel

Homo-Tyranny

... And Me (click the trap)

Agrarian Nation

Another of my online projects (click the picture)

Have You Been To Planet Whizbang?

It's my deliberate agrarian home business. Click the beet and check it out.

NEW….Whizbang Notes

These delightful little notebooks are a great down-to-earth tool. Click the beet to learn more.

Have You Seen The Planet Whizbang Wheel Hoe I Invented?

Click The Picture For Details about the hoe and the inexpensive wheel hoe kits I sell

I Invite You To Read My Online Gardening Essays

Click on that beautiful handful of sifted compost.

The WifeOf My Youth...

A Blessed Man's Reflections on Young Love (click the happy faces)

Eulogy For Evelyn

She was my mother-in-law. (click the picture)

Ken Badman's Good Example

Actions Speak Louder Than Words. (click the picture)

Backyard Sugaring

We make our own maple syrup. Click on the picture for complete how-to details.

Have You Seen Leo Sprauer's Handcrafted Hop Hoe?

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Learn About Whizbang Bucket Irrigation...

(click the trickle valve)

Have You Read Roe?

E.P. Roe, that is. Click on his picture to read some excerpts from this remarkable Christian-agrarian author of the 1800s.

Yeoman Furniture & My New Wood Box

Yeoman Furniture (Part 2)

My Amazing Whizbang Apple Grinder

You can make awesome apple mash, ready for pressing, in no time with this homemade device. Click on the picture to learn more

We Make Apple Cider

You can too (click on the picture to learn how)

Twelve Years Old Today

He's actually 22 now, but my prayer is the same

This is William Kimball(Him An Me Is Kin)

Click on the picture for William's Story

Homegrown Poultry

Click on the picture and I'll show you how to butcher a chicken

The Lovely Marlene With A Homemade Whizbang Garden Cart

Anyone can make a Whizbang Garden Cart. Click on the picture to learn how.

My Whizbang Row Cover Hoop System

Finally Online as of 1/29/10(click the pic)

Have You Seen Jax Hamlin's Chickens?

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This Blog Promotes Personal Responsibility And Traditional Concepts of American Liberty

—:::—

"If a community, or a section, or a race, or an age, is groaning under industrialism, and well aware that it is an evil dispensation, it must find a way to throw it off. To think that this cannot be done is pusillanimous. And if the whole community, section, race, or age thinks it cannot be done, then... it has doomed itself to impotence."

—Twelve Southerners

—:::—

The Christian-Agrarian Exodus of 1620

The Pligrims did NOT come to America for religious freedom.(click the picture)

Vacuum Bottle Thermos Cooking

Learn how to prepare and cook simple, inexpensive, wholesome meals (click the thermos bottle to read)

The Sermon I'll Never Forget

Pastor West was at Iwo Jima(click Mt. Suribachi)

Planting Potatoes With A Little Girl

"I must admit that four year old girls were once something like aliens to me." (click the pic)

Boys Will Be…. Warriors

Swinging homemade maces at each other can be great fun!(click the warriors)

Benny's Grandfather Was A Ditch Digger

And He Grew Tomatoes (click the Big Boy)

Backyard Poultry Processing With My 11-Year-Old Son

If he can do it, so can you. (click on the smiley face)

Another Summer Evening's Meal

This is the kind of food we dream about in the depths of winter. (click on the picture)

Pickled Garlic Scapes

Click on the silly boy's nose for a pickled scape tutorial

"Every Bean's A Blessing, Boys"

Dried beans present an opportunity to teach important things to my children (click the beans)

Hay Hooks

I bought my sons hay hooks, and they have gotten a lot of use since I wrote this essay